FOUNDER

Ed Mountford, President

As a veteran land development and entitlement specialist with over twenty-five
years of experience, Ed Mountford owns an exemplary track record of developing
and implementing successful strategies to win government approval of controversial
development projects, particularly in the Coastal Zone. Since 1989, Mr. Mountford has secured entitlement for over 7,000 homes, one million square feet of commercial space, two major hotels and three golf courses.

As Senior Vice President of Entitlement & Land Development for Hearthside Homes, Inc., Mr. Mountford was responsible for the company’s pre-development activities including land acquisition due diligence, community design, and entitlement.

One of his most notable accomplishments was managing the community design and
entitlement process for Hearthside’s flagship project – the 1,600 acre Bolsa Chica property in Huntington Beach (project now known as Brightwater), one of the most contentious development projects in the history of coastal southern California. Under his direction, a multi-disciplinary consultant team including planners, engineers, biologists and architects prepared a Local Coastal Program for the property that was approved by Orange County and the California Coastal Commission.

More recently, Mr. Mountford managed the design and entitlement of a 320-acre master planned community in Oxnard California. The SouthShore Specific Plan provides for a mix of uses including over 1,500 homes, parks, school, and commercial uses. The specific plan, development agreement and tentative tract map were approved by the city in 2011.

Before joining Hearthside Homes, Mr. Mountford served as Vice President of Entitlement for the Irvine Company in Newport Beach where he was responsible for entitlement, government affairs and community relations for the company’s Coastal Community
Builders Division. Projects under his direction included Newport Coast, Laguna Laurel and Newport Ridge.

Prior to entering the private sector, Mr. Mountford held several management positions in local government. As chief of staff to an Orange County Supervisor, he advised the Supervisor on policy matters pertaining to land use, transportation, county programs and state and federal legislation.

Mr. Mountford holds a Master of Public Administration degree from California State University, Long Beach and a BA in Political Science from California State University, Fullerton.

Mr. Mountford lives in Huntington Beach and served on the city’s Planning Commission from 1988 to 1990.